The present invention relates to a shape of an air bearing surface of a magnetic head slider suitable for achieving the high recording density, and particularly to the surface shapes of a flow-out end rail or pad forming an air bearing surface.
The magnetic head slider is generally a slider which is provided with a pad type air bearing surface shape and includes a magnetic head element for write and read in an outflow end pad. Recently, it has become an essential problem to reduce a flying height of a magnetic head slider in order to enhance the recording density. Therefore, it is inevitably demanded to reduce the surface roughness of a magnetic disk. However, in recent years, the flying height of the magnetic head slider has remarkably been decreased, and when the magnetic head slider and the magnetic disk come in contact with each other due to the disturbance or the use at high high-power, a large frictional force is generated because the surface roughness of the magnetic disk is small. Thus, in some cases, the magnetic head slider vibrates to disable the magnetic head element from reading and writing.
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 10-293983 discloses a method for reducing a frictional force by forming a projection, on a rail surface of a slider, having a polygonal or circular groove in the surface opposite to the medium. Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-260015 discloses a method for reducing a frictional force by forming a very small projection on an inflow pad of a slider. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-99910 discloses a technique for achieving a lower floating height of a head and lower frictional force by forming an intermediate step around an outflow pad to prevent the lubricant accumulated on a slider from moving to the slider surface of the outflow pad. As regards the lower floating height, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-343049 discloses a technique for increasing a negative pressure force and lowering a floating height of a slider by mounting a movable section, which is able to expand and contract in the height direction of the slider, at the air outflow end of the negative pressure slider, the movable section being approximately flush with the negative pressure groove surface at the time of writing and reading.